A death row inmate has come forward to share an insight into his heartwarming relationship with Rob and Michele Reiner.
Rob and Michele Reiner were killed in December of 2025, with the beloved film director and photographer found stabbed to death in their California home.
Their son, Nick Reiner, has since been arrested and charged in connection with their murder but has yet to make a plea in the case.
Much of the focus since the couple’s deaths has been on Rob’s legacy in Hollywood, with numerous celebrities coming forward to pay tribute to him, as well as the various political causes him and Michele dedicated themselves towards.
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In the past decade, the pair had quietly and without fanfare developed a sweet bond with a death row prisoner, Nanon Williams.
Nanon is serving the 34th year of a prison sentence in Texas for a murder he is still adamant he did not commit and was sentenced to death at the age of 17.
He became involved in selling drugs as a teenager and was convicted of shooting and killing a 19-year-old man, Adonius Collier, though he denies shooting him.
A key witness, a ballistics expert, has since recanted his story and claimed he was wrong and a state judge called for a retrial in 2001, but this was blocked.
Nanon met the Reiners in 2016 after they saw a play, Lyrics from Lockdown, which combines the experiences of a black man who was arrested for simply walking past a crime scene, Bryonn Bain, and poetry by Nanon.
After reaching out to him since seeing the play, Rob and Michele became advocates for his cause and worked to try and get him moved out of prison.
The convict was moved off death row due to changes to laws which prevent the death penalty for minors, which he was at the time of the crime.
Just 36 hours before their deaths, Rob and Michele went to see Lyrics from Lockdown with Nanon’s family, with Michele emailing him to say: “We all said that we can’t wait to watch it with you.”
Rob reportedly had an extended talk with other advocates after the show and Nanon’s case was back in court, with the director allegedly telling the inmate’s sister: “We’re going to make sure Nanon gets out.”
Speaking to NBC News from prison, Nanon opened up about Rob’s curiosity around his case and life, and called Michele ‘his heart’.
He added: “Rob and Michele didn’t want credit for trying to help me. It was just because they loved me.”
In a statement to NBC, Rob and Michele’s daughter Romy said: “My parents spoke about him with such love.
“He has taught me more about life and human compassion than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Rob and Michele even wrote letters of support when he was applying for a retrial recently, with the director’s saying that ‘if Nanon is not allowed to re-enter society, society will be worse for it’.
Topics: Celebrity, Crime, TV and Film, True Crime, US News, Death Row
Michael Slavin